TV GUIDE Previews (Part I)

Look Inside!! EXCLUSIVE

  The Middletown Insider gives readers a sneak preview at the new television season for Middletown 2014!   The list has a lot to pick from and if you read real carefully you may find yourself a treat like an Easter egg or two!

1)   The Mayor and His Mom (FOX)- This ½ hour comedy on the FOX network tells the tale of a former Mayor and his Mom who co-habitat together, argue with one another and basically drive one another batty in a style that is reminiscence of Neil Simon’s classic play The Odd Couple.

2)        Devoto and The Man- (Satire/Encore Vineyard Networks) Follow the adventures of a college professor turned politico as he uses his followers, known as the The Villagers, on his quest for domination of the town’s planning and zoning committee.  The  pilot episode focuses on the professor's many ambitions and shameless deal making techniques in order to become chairperson of an organization he  just joined.  Watch as  his beloved Dems chew him up and spit him up while in the same breath he hopes to dodge a political bullet by putting a “Vote Serra” sign on front lawn.

3)       P/Z Commissioner Russo in Charge (BET)- From the team that brought you Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charles in Charge comes P/Z Russo in Charge.  Directed by the DMTC and their minions, after Commissioner Chisem is forced to stop down and settle in at his Common Council seat, the DMTC has a field day with this one by naming Daniel Russo, Chisem’s successor.  Watch as the entitled Villagers write letter after letter hoping to force a change against Russo who they openly dumped on (remember how nasty they were?)throughout both campaigns.  The second episode deals with Karma as it crosses over with Devoto and the Man as the viewers see the professor's reaction when he was told Russo beat him for chair.

4)        Bait Car-(Reality on F/X Network) Watch as Republican Town Committee Vice-Chair person William “Billy” Wilson drives a taxicab all around Middletown looking for trouble with the hopes that he can pick up a few fares while keeping his tire threads from going bald.

5)         Phillip Pessina- (Biography Network) The educational channel looks at former deputy chief Phillip Pessina and his rise to power.  Interviews with William Shatner and Lynn Baldoni are included.

6)         Baywatch- (TV Land) The number 1 syndicated show in America returns for a very special episode that features former State Representative Jim O’Rourke leaving the scene of a boating accident that left one innocent female dead.  Watch as Mitch and the gang attempt to unravel the threads of guilt in Mr. O’Rourke’s remarks and attitudes after the tragedy. The episode is based on an actual event that took place in Rocky Hill, Connecticut a few years back when the Mr. O'Rourke left a young woman to die after picking her up at a Rocky Hill bar.

7)   I Lead Two Lives- (Documentary/NatGeo) starring Tim Lennox as the once and future Republican/Independent who has composite view points on most social issues.

8)   Mr. Santangelo’s Neighborhood:  (PBS/Children) The producers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood have a new resident in the neighborhood, Mr. Santangelo and his wife Lisa.  Lisa talks to the children about all the important work she does with everybody while Bob follows her around and basically does what is asked of him. "Bob, get the dogs off the bed!"  Special Guest: Darryl Lucas as the Pizza Delivery Boy.

9)        Dateline (NBC/News) Keith Morrison takes a deeper look into the mysterious Connecticut Health Center CEO Mark Masselli and attempts to figure out why somebody in the non-profit field is making over $607, 000 a year.  What is Masselli’s hidden connection with Former Speaker of the house Christopher Donovan? Who paid for Masselli's trip to Tibet and his meeting with the Dali Lama?  The news-team will also conduct interviews with former employees that claim Masselli forced them to give Donavan’s campaign $100.00 donations. 

10)       Growing up Micciulla- ( E! Reality/Style Channel) Follow the adventures of a young Italian man running a massage parlor while running for office and hanging out at the Bada-Bing club.  Early episodes include cameos from: Jimmy Smits, The Lombardo Boyz, Kool Moe D,  James Caan, Big Pussy from The Sopranos and Frank Vincent.

Board of Assessment Appeals member 
 stars in the reality show "Growing up Micciulla"

11)                  Star Trek The Middletown Generation (SyFy)- Starring Councilman David Bauer as Spock, Billy Russo as Captain Kirk and John Killian as Q.  Early adventures include: plans to put the budget in space and beam Tribbles into the Mayor’s office with the hopes that the cute cuddly characters won't be eaten alive.

"Damnit Joe these friggin tribbles!!
Get me appropriation for the Council to rubber stamp STAT!!"

12)                  Dr. Fred Carroll is Dr. Who- (BBC/Drama)-  The traveling Doctor is back for his 50^th year.  This time the 10th Doctor Who morphs into an American, Fred Carroll.  In this episode, the new Doctor plans to grab a broom and sweep up the solar system.When things get rough, the Doctor fights a Demalak and zooms away in the TARDIS call box.

13)                  Who’s Line is it Anyway? - (GSN/Reunion) Anniversary edition that pits the improvisational skills of Richard Pellitier, Joyce Rossittier, Dan Russo and Stephen Devoto against one another.  Watch as the gang goes after Devoto and his selfish agenda of promoting his self as the expense of anyone. Blue House anyone?  Does anybody know what the hell is going on? Does anybody care? 

14)  Sons of the Village- (Fox/FX) From the Kurt Sutter the creator of Sons of Anarchy.  The show returns in October and Sutter promises fans that all plot lines will be resolved. he The creator told TV GUIDE, “Let’s just say that Ed ‘Jax’ McKeon’s team of bicycle riding social vigilantes attempt to defeat a Starbucks drive through proves to be quite interesting as he tosses tofu bars at cars that refuse to honk whenever the villagers are having a protest.”    Sutter also mentions the final story arch will look at the financial motivations behind some of the Villagers actions as they are forced to admit that are indeed capitalists like those they are publicly protesting.

15)                   Judge Joe Gallo (Court TV/30 Minutes)- Yep, another court show on Court TV, makes sense doesn’t it?  The producers claim unlike Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, Judge Alex or The People’s Court this show is different- the judge is worse than the defendants.   The first episode brings us inside Gallo’s court house as we watch Bailiff J. Milardo push Gallo’s eyes back in his head, cartoon style after an attractive paralegal walks by.  “This show is so much fun that after I hid my wife from Gallo, I had to pee,” claimed an employee from Call Before You Dig.

16)                  Little Blue House on the Prairie (PBS)- The award winning investigative news show Frontline takes a hard look at a group of creative capitalist people in a small town in Connecticut who claim they are buying and fixing houses for the joy of it and to bring quality folks into the city.  The special asks serious questions with regard to Blue House: Did the 7 principal owners make money off the deal?  What is their real reason (non-Villager political correct) to buying the property other than money? Could this be a case of elitism gone wrong or something more sinister?

17)                  Blue’s Clues: The Case of the Missing Midnight on Main (PBS)-  Host Donavan Patton as Joe sends BLUES on a special mission to figure out who is responsible for killing the Midnight on Main Street dream.  Did  Masselli pull the plug because he was angry at the Mayor? Was it something else, something more devious?  Be on the look out for money clues and other things that spell out C-O-R-R-U-P-T-I-O-N.

18)                   Somalis: When the Time is Right (Spice Channel/Adult Programming)  For $49.99 viewers can watch as the Mayor’s chief of staff Joseph Sherman Howard Somalis shows the world his inner John Holmes as it’s Wonderland all day and Boogey Nights, well, all night in this steam feast that will make Milton Berle’s third leg look small in comparison. 

19)                   The New Odd Couple (CW)- Starring William Wilson and Grady Faulkner as they live together above Vechitto’s Lemon Ice. Tonight’s episode has Billy refusing to do the laundry and watching the game, while in retaliation, Grady buries all the laundry inside Billy’s bed.  The laughs keep on flowing for 30 minutes of quality entertainment on the CW network.

20)                  Walking Dead: Middletown (MSNBC)- From Robert Kirkland and Dan Pickett comes a new chapter in horror.  It seems the voting machines in Middletown have been contaminated with a toxic waste substance which forces the voters to bitch and moan about taxes, jobs, and other important things but vote the same way.  Watch as the voters slowly become zombies and slaves but continue to keep the status quo the same making sure that a plate of JELLO has more smarts than them.

2 Term Treasurer Que Phipps (D)
on the set of the new Middletown "Walking Dead"

Stay tuned for  TV GUIDE PART II!

37.6 Billion Benjamins!

Connecticut Senate passed the $37.6 billion two-year budget on yesterday., This budget takes $6 billion in Medicaid spending out from under the spending cap. If the Medicaid funding had been kept under  the spending cap the budget would be $44 billion resulting in an over 10% increase.
The vote passed at 19-17 with most objections coming from GOP senators. Three Democratic, including Senators Paul "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" Doyle who represents Middletown  took a bold step and crossed party lines giving bi-partisan opposition against passing of the budget. This is the second time in the last few weeks Doyle has gone against the status quo of his party.

A Middletown Patch by Cassandra Day  details provisions of the budget:
 " Among other provisions, the budget:

• Counts Medicaid dollars for the first time in a “net appropriation” fashion, shifting $6.3 billion over the two-year budget off the books.
• Launches a keno lottery game
• Spares cities and towns from significant cuts in aid
• Funds an aggressive “Generation Next” expansion of UConn
• Cuts aid to hospitals
• Extends a $2.50-per-megawatt-hour tax on power plants for three months
• Refinances operating debt from previous years
• Spends more than $200 million in surplus funds
• Shifts money from the transportation fund to the general fund
• Expands education reform efforts put into place last year."

Gov. Dan "Call me Dannel" Malloy is pumped at the bit to sign this budget today. Chief of Staff Joe Samolis is reportedly driving Middletown Mayor Dan " Lil Dub' D" Drew to the Capital for the distinguished honor of sitting on the governor's lap during the signing. Middletown will be the first City Hall to have Keno machines installed in its public restrooms later in the month.

Taxpayer's Fund Another Vacation for a CT Bureacrat

Taxpayer's paid for U.S. Representative "Red" Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut to  attend Tuesday's service for Pope Francis's installation at the Vatican in Rome. DeLauro was part of a U.S. delegation of representatives.

Pope Francis is a native of Rep. Matt Lesser's ancestral Argentina. Pope Franis is the first pope from Latin America and the first named for the 13th-century friar St. Francis of Assisi.

DeLauro an honorary  member of the National Organization of Italian American Women and a member the group Catholic Democrats, which is a pro-choice organization that has received criticism from the Vatican. Do you think Pope Francis and Red Rosa will share gelato together?

Italy is no New Adventure for DeLauro: Rep. DeLauro received criticism after her vacation to Italy in the wake of Hurricane Irene. Read the article here: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/09/02/ct-gop-delauro-should-choose-permanent-vacation/
At the time CT GOP Chair Jerry Labriola had this to say to reporters from Ct Capital Report:
“This is a perfect example of how out of touch Congresswoman Delauro is with the residents of her district and the needs of our state.  The Congresswoman should never have been abroad to begin with, rather in the district or at work addressing the ongoing unemployment crisis. On the other hand, given her continued endorsement of President Obama’s failed economic policies, perhaps our state would be better served if Delauro chose to take a permanent vacation”

No word on if Rep. Matt Lesser was packed in her suitcase for the journey. We tried to reach Mayor Dan Drew, who in the past gone on tax payer funded jaunts around the world, but he had already left early for the day (as routine) to watch his children. Per standard procedure, Chief of Staff Joseph Samolis dropped him off, returned the mayor mobile to it's spot outside City Hall.

Rome is a lovely 60 degrees in March.

2 Important Meetings: Big Dan Comes to Town!

1. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman will host a community forum in Middletown on Wednesday, March 6.Wednesday’s forum in Middletown will be held at City Hall, 245 deKoven Drive, and will run from 7 to 8 p.m. Staged questions by Malloy lackeys & pre-screened questions will be allowed by sign-in sheet.

Those wishing to do business at City Hall Thursday morning should not the late opening, as Mayor Dan Drew will be arriving later than usual. 
The citizen's understanding is called upon, for our dear Mayor's lips will be quite sore from all the butt kissing on Wednesday. 

 Mayor Drew will resume his usual schedule of leaving early at 2:30 pm to watch his children, and have the mayor mobile returned by Mayoral aide Joe Samolis to give the appearance he actually works a full day.

Tell us in comments: What would you ask Gov. Malloy?

2. The state General Assembly’s Public Health Committee will hold a public hearing in Middletown this Friday. 11 a.m. at Beckham Hall, 45 Wyllys Ave., at Wesleyan University.
The Public Health Committee is co-chaired by state Sen. Terry B. Gerratana, D-6, and state Rep. Susan M. Johnson, R-49. State Sen. Jason Welch, R-31, and state Rep. Prasad Srinivasan, R-31.

The Agenda states the committee will review bills pertaining to approval for residential nursing facilities; requirements that psychiatrists give notice that patients pose a threat to themselves or others; behavioral health assessments for children; mental health services at school-based centers; and other topics pertaining to psychiatric and physical health.

Resident William Boylan discusses the dangers of school mandated psych evaluations in an open letter to Sen. Bartolomeo published here on Patch:
http://middletown-ct.patch.com/blog_posts/open-letter-to-senator-barotolomeo

Brought to you by the Letter "N" for Nepotism

Today's Middletown Insider edition is brought to you by Councilwoman Hope "Nepotism Nancy" Kasper (D) and the letter "N" for Nepotism. 

Originally, Kasper was promised Joseph Samolis's position of assistant to Mayor Dan Drew or "Chief of Staff" as Samolis likes to call it. For whatever reason, she was passed over. Kasper used her capacity on the hiring committee for the BOE, to persuade the former regime under Superintendent Michael Frechette to hire "questionably qualified" former real estate agent son-in-law Josh Burger for a budget position  specifically created for him at the Board of Education. Oddly, or not so, when  SOME of the grievances at the BOE and City were settled, a condition insisted on was Josh Burger got to keep his job.. In return, Councilwoman Kasper votes the party line at no matter what. Pretty sweet deal.

City to Sell Fragrance

By charter, the Mayor is allowed to appoint an Executive Assistant, and such is allocated for in the budget.

This administration however, has changed the title and whats more relevant the job description to Executive Chief of Staff. Grounds for a precedent pay increase? The Insider has heard that employees have been instructed to use the new title of Chief. 

Guest Blog: Giuliano Speaks Out

Hush and Rush! Why fill position so fast?
 Former Middletown Mayor Seb Giuliano speaks out.
When I took office, we had 3 attorneys in the legal department.  It had been my intention to assign each of them two related areas of concentration: labor and personnel matters to Adrienne DeLuca, land use and contractual matters (other than labor) to Tim Lynch and public safety and municipal liability to City Attorney Trina Solecki. Outside counsel would continue to be retained for complex litigation.

Deluca left to take a private sector job with a labor law firm (specialty in representing management) and, within a few more months, Solecki retired. This left only Lynch, who was named Acting City Attorney, which position he continues to occupy. In the meantime, the legal department was reduced from 3 to 2 lawyers and the qualifications for the City Attorney position had been made more - and subsequently less - stringent. Obviously, any concept of a three lawyer office, with each of them being responsible for specific areas of legal expertise, was shelved. Also, a logical consequence of having only one lawyer in the office was more reliance on outside counsel, with its attendant costs.

At one point, I felt it helpful and logical to send Geen Thazhampallath, my Administrative Assistant (not "Chief of Staff"), who is a lawyer, to the legal department as an acting deputy city attorney.  Council Democrats objected that, under the Charter, nobody could hold a city job and, at the same time, be the mayoral AA. I thought their argument was misplaced, but it was not an argument worth getting into, so I brought Thazhampallath back to my office and left Tim Lynch by himself.

There are those who have suggested that we eliminate the legal department altogether and use outside counsel for everything. This is not a position I support. I believe that it is more cost effective to keep ordinary municipal functions "in house", and only outsource for those needs that arise infrequently. For a small, “general practice” law firm, which the City’s legal department essentially is (even though it has only one client), litigation is something that should be handled by outside counsel. Most small law offices would be brought to a standstill by litigation, especially federal litigation. This detracts from the City Attorney’s ability to advise the municipal departments (e.g., planning, conservation, municipal development, personnel, finance, tax assessor, tax collector, health, public works, parks, recreation, human relations, purchasing, sanitation, et c.), to negotiate and review contracts, to advise and assist the City’s enforcement officials in the exercise of their respective duties, or to issue legal opinions when requested or authorized by the Mayor.

Clearly, I have no quarrel with the concept of a three-lawyer legal department along the lines I previously described. That, however, does not completely describe what is being proposed. The Mayor - and his "blue ribbon" commission (just who awarded them this blue ribbon and what they did to earn it still to be explained) are proposing that the legal department take operational control of a city department, i.e., personnel, an idea that is rife with potential - if not actual - conflicts of interest. The client of the City Attorney is the corporate entity known as the City of Middletown, which includes all of its departments, boards and commissions, and its ethical responsibility is to represent that entity fully, To place municipal management functions within that office is to compromise the ability of the office to exercise its true function, to be the City’s lawyers.

Sebastian Giuliano,

Middletown, CT

Have You Seen this Middletown Public Servant?

Sources have told the Insider staff that Democratic Deputy Registrar Voters Lisa Santangelo, and  Democratic Registrar Sandra Faraci , accompanied by personnel from the Common Council clerk's office have on multiple occasions been closing the doors at the Registrars' office during business hours and locking out their Republican counterparts.More disturbing is that by doing so they are locking out the public as well. By state law, the office is to remain open so that citizens may register to vote. Any variation of this practice must follow guidelines set forth by the State Elections Enforcement Commission which determines cases of voter suppression and other violations. Both parties have representatives appointed to the registrar to over see elections are run fairly. The Common Council Clerk office has no official business with the Office of Registrar.      Sources report that the Mayor's appointed Administrative Assistant Joseph Samolis, has advised City Hall staff to go against City Charter rules which title him "Administrative Assistant," and address him as "Chief of Staff." Not a huge deal? Well we all know where changing "job titles" has gotten us in the past when it comes time to determine salary!    Across town, the Board of Education Administration has permanently hired Josh Berger, son-in-law of Councilwoman Hope Kasper as an Business Administrator after she played a key role in selecting candidates for that position. Berger , who has a work history primarily in real estate, did not rank in the top 10 qualified candidates. He, unlike any other BOE administrator will have a benefits package normally reserved only for teachers.  More back ground on this and other nepotism here.         Meanwhile, stacks of papers are piled high on the Mayor's desk as he spends most of his days campaigning  for Democrats running for state offices, posing for photo ops at various events, mainly as part of the campaigning however, in Hartford lobbying, or and doing who knows what.... Drew can be found at work tops 2-3 days a week. The State Democratic Committee and Malloy machine pulled out all the stops to get Drew elected- spending almost $100,000.00.  With no doubt the help of Malloy's crew who wanted to desperately to put another Democratic mayor in a major CT city, Drew received more out of town donations from big Dem donors from around Connecticut such as the Young Democrats, the Working Families political action organization, and labor unions.       It appears now, Drew has to return the favor to his creators at the expense of the public; Little Dano is obligated to Big Dan to reciprocate the favors, thus taking time away from his duties at City Hall.      As of late, aside from a few Council meetings, Drew has not been pulling too many late night committee meetings either. Working from home? If the public is not allowed to contact this public servant at home or on the road, then we don't buy it and neither should tax payers! Mayor Drew  receives the full $87K tax payer funded salary no matter how often he chooses to grace City Hall with his presence. * UPDATE! Your tax dollars at work: Since the initial posting of this piece, the Insider found Drew! Today the Mess published a article that has Candidate for State Rep. Paul Doyle and Matt Lesser cruising down the River in canoes yesterday during work hours with non other than Dan Drew- The event complete with reporter along was under the guise of "helping" DEEP Commissioner Esty check out the biological foray, but appears more like blatant campaigning to us- Wonder why no other representatives or candidates were invited? Stay tuned for the Deputy chief Position Vote Tuesday- read background here